The Bloodforged Kin

Chapter 234 - 228: Zavier’s Second Run

Zavier froze in place, hand hovering over the wall. Had he really heard that? It occurred to him that this was the first voice he'd heard in six months, not counting his own. The System messages he'd received had come across his interface, and he was searching his memory for anything that had spoken to him. The guardian had, he supposed, but he didn't count NPCs. Preprogrammed responses, no matter how intelligently done, were still just System features - no different than the sounds animals made. He was unprepared for the emotion that hearing a living, intelligent voice would have on him. His hand shook and he felt his eyes sting. He replied without turning.

"Are you… are you real?"

The voice came again, deep and melodious. It radiated confidence, knowledge, and authority, wrapped in velvety, comforting tones.

"Yes, Zavier Torres, I am real. As I said, you have completed your first attempt at your trial. Before you begin your second attempt there are matters to be discussed."

"Who are you?" He turned and searched the room, knowing he wouldn't find anyone there but needing to be sure. He was a social creature and he didn't realize how much the solitude had impacted him.

"I am the owner of this dungeon and the one assigned to help you through your trial."

"I thought the trial was something I had to go through alone - that I had to prove myself."

The voice held long-suffering patience, as if it had had this conversation many times. "The trial isn't about proving who you were when you entered, it is about proving whether or not you can grow to the heights needed to complete it. A trial is not an exam, it is a journey of growth and experience. You are here to be tested, yes, but not as you were - only on what you can become."

"Okay, I get that, but does that mean you're going to help me pass this? Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of the trial?"

"As I said," the voice said with flat boredom, "the trial is about more than your strength. You will need to grow if you are to succeed in passing it, but it is not expected that a newly-integrated world fully understand how best to grow. Your Unity Protocol has only recently begun and, thus, you are largely uninformed and uneducated on the full expanse of what The System provides - or what you can do. I am here to assist in your education and push you to your limits."

"Unity Protocol? What is that?"

"That is unimportant at the moment - you need to remain focused on your next attempt at the trial."

"Okay, we'll table that for now - but don't think I've forgotten! What happens if I don't succeed at the trial?" He knew the answer but needed to hear it.

"You will be given five attempts to complete your trial, one of which you've already failed. Each attempt will focus on a specific type of training based off of your path, class, abilities, and potential. You only succeed by defeating the dungeon guardian at the end."

"What happens if I die before I reach the guardian? And what happens if I defeat him before the fifth attempt? He was tough but didn't seem that tough. And what happens if I don't defeat him by the fifth attempt? What happens if we fight to a stalemate, or if I refuse to fight him? Is there any other way out of here?"

This time Zavier was sure he could hear irritation in the voice, which brought him no small amount of Schadenfreude. "Would you say that your inquisitiveness is average for your race?"

"Are you saying I'm asking too many questions?" Zavier couldn't help but smile to himself.

"I have said no such thing, but asking multiple questions without waiting for the response is uncommon among species. If I'm to better support you I need to know if you are considered average for your race."

"Do you really need to know that, or are you just curious? Because it seems to me that it doesn't really matter what everyone else is like, only what I'm like. You're not here to help everyone else, are you?"

The voice sighed - actually sighed - before responding. "You are correct. In that case, let me address your questions in order. The upcoming levels will increase in difficulty and will require extensive growth for you to pass. If you die before reaching the guardian you will simply be teleported back here to restart the level. Your level counter doesn't advance unless you die in battle against the guardian."

"If you somehow, by some miracle, manage to defeat the guardian before the fifth attempt you will exit the dungeon and be awarded additional benefits for completing it early. Despite your overconfident claims that the dungeon guardian will be easy to beat, you will not find this to be so. The guardian responds accordingly as it pertains to the attempt."

"You're saying you nerfed him?" The thought brought a cold sweat to Zavier's back. That had not been an easy fight at all, and if he had been put on a leash…

"I don't know what that means. The guardian you faced was appropriately powered to what you were capable of when you fought it. Your attacks were primarily physical and melee, so it responded in kind. If you had been a magic user it would have responded as such."

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"Well damn, I'm fucked then. I didn't realize you could set the level on that thing."

"I am the master of this dungeon, I can reshape it to be whatever is needed."

"So you're going to just keep making it harder and harder? How will I ever defeat it then?"

It sighed again. "So many questions. Please let me answer the ones you've already asked before continuing. Yes, the guardian will get harder each time and will adapt to your growth. No, it is not impossible to beat, as that would defeat the purpose of this trial. Yes, you will have to grow to heights you have not yet imagined if you are to defeat it. Now, let me address the remainder of your questions."

"If you refuse to enter its lair you will simply remain here until you do. There is a level cap to how much you can grow, and thus you will eventually stagnate as everything you face becomes easier and easier for you. No, there is no other way out. As for if you fight to a stalemate - that is not a consideration. You will defeat the guardian or it will defeat you."

"Now, to the final, and most pertinent question: If you die on the fifth attempt then you will die in the trial. Your body will never leave this place and no one will know what happened. There will be no System notifications, no body to recover - nothing. You will exist here forever as a corpse and no one will ever know your fate."

"Jesus, you didn't have to say all that. I got it, like right away. That last bit seemed unnecessarily pointed."

"I am simply trying to drive home the stakes. Succeed or die, that is the only option you have."

"Okay, then let's do it! Let me out of here so I can have another go at him."

The voice took on a more excited tone - not truly excited, perhaps simply less bored. "As I said, there are things we have to discuss. I observed your journey through the trial, your fighting styles, magical abilities, skills, and attributes."

"You can do that? You can see… inside me?"

"Yes, Zavier. While you are in this dungeon I have full access to everything The System has provided. I would make for a poor trainer if I couldn't."

"I'm not so sure I like that, but I suppose I don't have a choice. So what did you learn?"

"That is correct, you don't have a choice. As for what I learned…"

Zavier was good at introspection. His line of work required him to constantly adapt his styles, techniques, processes - even how he behaved around other people. He was an expert at Situational Leadership, which required that someone adapt their behavior to the people they were leading. He was no stranger to having to analyze everything he held dear pr pushing aside ego to get the job done. Results were what mattered, not fleeting and fragile ego. His ego was self-contained enough that not much could bruise it.

Even so, this stung a bit.

"Let's start with the least important part, your physicality. You are weak for what The System should have provided you at this point. I see you have been putting all your points into Intelligence - an interesting, if flawed strategy. You are so weak, in fact, that you should be able to notice that your Strength and Agility have each gained a point since starting this trial."

Zavier looked in shock as he saw that the voice was right. "Wait, how did that happen? I didn't put any points there!"

"That is because your baseline physical stats are still very real. You put yourself through extreme physical activity over the previous six months and, thus, grew in strength and agility the old fashioned way. In most cases this wouldn't happen, or even be noticeable, because you would have been so empowered by The System that it would be impossible for you to exert enough physical activity to surpass the benefits that The System could endow. But your inherent weakness caused you to grow. It is highly recommended that you begin putting stat points into those attributes as well."

"Yeah, not gonna happen. Intelligence all the way, baby!"

When the voice finally responded it sounded genuinely curious. "Why?"

Zavier shrugged and smiled mischievously.

"Zavier, if I am to help you I need to know your motivations. It does not serve you to keep secrets from me. I'm here to assist."

"Fine," Zavier sighed. "The world is going to be full of strong people. People who can throw cars, crush buildings, cast magic, run super fast." He choked up slightly at the end as an image of Cass flashed in his mind. He crushed it, not wanting to give this asshole more information than it needed. "That's not me. The path to true power is knowledge and understanding. I need to really, truly, deeply understand how The System works. I need to be able to outthink any opponent. If you're strong, there's always someone stronger. If you're fast, there's always someone faster. If I throw a fireball there's always some jackoff yelling 'Flame on!' who has a bigger fireball. If I'm going to get strong enough to protect… to grow to my full potential, I need to be smarter than any of them."

The voice sounded deep in thought, its reply hushed. "That is… unique. I have not heard that line of reasoning in any previous trial takers. I need to consider this and reformulate your training."

"Other trial takers? How many have there been? If you're still doing this, how many have managed to clear the trial before me?" His hopes dropped slightly as he considered the gravity of his situation.

The voice ignored the questions. "This new information sheds light on your path and has been incorporated into future challenges. That being said, we need to address your skills and that unique item you hold."

"What unique item?" Zavier knew exactly what the damned voice was referring to but hoped he was wrong.

"That item you have affixed to your primary chain. You have it labeled as a Sonic Screwdriver. I don't know what that means."

"It's only the most bad ass macguffin ever to have existed! It can do anything!"

"Again, I don't know what that means, but in one way you are correct. It is a System Interface Key that is infinitely programmable."

"Exactly! A Sonic Screwdriver!"

"Please stop saying that. It has preset functions that I'm not fully able to ascertain, but it seems to function based on your understanding of The System and how it operates. Despite your high Intelligence stat, you have been either unwilling or unable to unlock its full potential. This kind of item is normally reserved for high leveled System Architects, not fledging entrants. You are neither equipped nor prepared to fully exploit it."

"Ouch."

"This is not to say that you can't. We will focus on unlocking its potential further, although due to the sheer potential it has I doubt you'll ever be able to fully unlock its full capabilities. We will attempt to unlock some of the base settings and see where you can go from there. I am, quite frankly, unsure how you were even able to obtain it."

"By being awesome."